Category Archives: Urban Sketchers

Wide vs. Close-Up Views

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I have always preferred taking photographs with a wide-angle lens—a 35 mm, 28 mm, or even a 24 mm fixed lens. This preference shows up in the views I usually select when drawing on location. My inclination to include context and information in my peripheral vision often leads to panoramic views or perspectives that stretch beyond the classic 60° cone of vision for linear perspectives.


Some photographers prefer the more tightly composed shots made possible with telephoto lenses, which can be seen in how they might frame and compose their on-location drawings.

For those who prefer the flexibility of a zoom lens, the choice of subject matter can suggest how it is to be framed, whether it is a panoramic cityscape or a tighter close-up of a building fragment.

The Polar Pioneer

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Amid a lot of controversy, the Royal Dutch Shell oil rig Polar Pioneer docked recently at Terminal 5 in Seattle to be fitted and supplied for oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast. When the 400-foot-long vessel arrived after a 12-hour journey from Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula, it was met by by environmental activists in kayaks and on shore protesting the proposed drilling in the Arctic ecosystem in general, and more specifically, the presence of the oil rig in Seattle.

Workshop Offerings

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SketchitOn

A month after attending the 6th International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Singapore (See http://singapore2015.urbansketchers.org), I will be joining Norberto Dorantes, Simone Ridyard, and Climaco Cardenas in conducting a series of workshops, offering demonstrations, and leading sketch crawls in Amsterdam and Liverpool over two long weekends, August 13–23. For more information about the schedule of events and registration, please visit http://www.sketchiton.com.

And finally, to cap off the summer, Gail Wong and I will be teaching another Line to Color workshop in Portland, Oregon, September 25–27. To find out more about this event, you can email Gail at gail@glwarc.com.

Fremont Fine Arts Foundry

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Another iconic scene in Fremont, the Fine Arts Foundry founded by Peter Bevis in 1981. He originally conceived the 2-story concrete structure as a gathering place for artists, housing a number of studios, a gallery, stone carving yard, sculpture garden, darkroom, and offices. In 2013, after 10 years of vacancy, Dhruv Agarwal renovated the building for his business True Fabrications, which designs and sells a variety of wine, bar, and gift products. The building also incorporates a creative arts venue for product launches, company meetings, client events, and winery/brewery tastings.

Bothell Country Village

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Last Sunday, the Seattle Urban Sketchers met at the Country Village in Bothell, a small community northwest of Seattle. Built around an original farm house from 1901, the complex comprises a layout of shops, offices, and restaurants set amid duck ponds, streams, and walking paths. There’s even a scaled-down train offering rides on a half-mile of track. This particular view attracted me because of the eclectic mix of elements—a caboose, a windmill, and a land-bound ship—all surrounding a pastoral pond foregrounded by tall grasses.

The Getty Center

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After the Orange County workshop, Deb and I spent a day at the Getty Center, a campus of the Getty Museum in the Brentwood neighborhood of LA. The complex of galleries, library, offices, and research institute designed by Richard Meier is situated along two ridges of a hill in the Santa Monica Mountains. The architecture is striking, but as I noted on my sketch of the museum courtyard, the most attractive and enjoyable part of our visit were the landscaped open spaces and gardens created by the architecture. Notable is the Central Garden designed by artist Robert Irwin.

Line-to-Color Workshop in Orange County

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LTC_OCPhoto

We spent two wonderful and gratifying days in Orange County last weekend, drawing at the Mission San Juan Capistrano, along the Laguna Beach promenade, and in the confines of the Lumberyard courtyard. Thanks to all of the workshop participants for their enthusiasm, hard work, and high spirits.

Despite the numerous books, and now videos, on sketching and drawing that are available, they cannot match the immediacy of hands-on teaching and learning. It is difficult to replicate the experience of standing or sitting side-by-side, looking out at the same scene, and discussing and demonstrating the ways of seeing that are crucial to on-location drawing.

Sixth International Urban Sketchers Symposium

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USk_Singapore

Urban Sketchers Singapore and Temasek Polytechnic are hosting the 6th International Urban Sketchers Symposium this year. There’s a great lineup of faculty and presenters who will be offering workshops, lectures, and other activities from the 22nd through the 25th of July. For more information about the schedule, programming, and registration information, please visit: <http://singapore2015.urbansketchers.org>.

Singapore

Layers of Depth

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Heading down to Orange County, California, for a workshop this weekend.

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During my workshops, when working one-on-one with a participant, I often do a demonstration of a concept in my sketchbook, such as this one describing the layers of depth that I saw at Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore, India. 1 is the foreground porch structure; 2 is the porch structure in the middle ground; 3 is the top of a structure just beyond 2; and finally, 4 is the gopuram in the distance.

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This second image is a follow-up sketch demonstrating how to convey the layers of depth described in the first diagram. Describing layers of depth on a two-dimensional page relies on a discernible contrast of detail or tonal values between each layer and the next. In this case, it was a matter of suggesting detail and tonal values in selected portions of the drawing and omitting them in others.

Seattle Chinese Garden

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For its regular monthly outing, the Seattle Urban Sketchers met this past Sunday at the Seattle Chinese Garden. Above is a view from within the Knowing the Spring Courtyard, completed in 2010 by artisans of the Chang Shu Ancient Style Garden Design Construction Company, from Seattle’s sister city of Chongqing.

Below is an exterior view as one approaches the courtyard from the south. The lead designer for the Sichuan-style garden, Feng Dacheng, is from the Chongqing Bureau of Parks and Greenery. Future plans call for a dense, complex mixture of plants, stone, water, and architecture, including an education center and a banquet hall with seating for 200.

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